Making testing easy with a magnetic stirrer
As we all know testing our system can be time consuming and challenging. Did I time the test, right? Did I count the drops, right? Did I shake the vile long enough?
After some thought, I started looking around for a way to simplify the shaking, dropping, and adding the reagent and I came up with using a lab magnetic stirrer. I use Red Sea test kits and also, I have also tried test on Salifert test kits using their vials and it works too.
Equipment
· Magnetic stirrer, I went with is the Apera Insterments link
· I have also use the SR Aquaristik Speed Test great portable tester link
· 20 ml beakers for regular tests link
· 10 ml beakers for small volume milliliter tests link
· Tweezers to pull the stir bars out of the vials and beakers link
· Silicone bakers mat, yes it is over kill but I have found that the reagents eat through cotton towels and discolor wood desk tops link
· PTFE stir bar white, 10 mm and 5 mm. What I did, is order a 7pc set to get the sizes I needed. link
Here are the traditional test Red Sea videos
Nitrate
Alk
Ca
Here is how I am now doing my test with the stirrer.
Using the Apera Stirrer
Using the SR Aquaristik Speed Test
I log my test results using my controller software and use my thread as a sort of journal to post my results there.
As we all know testing our system can be time consuming and challenging. Did I time the test, right? Did I count the drops, right? Did I shake the vile long enough?
After some thought, I started looking around for a way to simplify the shaking, dropping, and adding the reagent and I came up with using a lab magnetic stirrer. I use Red Sea test kits and also, I have also tried test on Salifert test kits using their vials and it works too.
Equipment
· Magnetic stirrer, I went with is the Apera Insterments link
· I have also use the SR Aquaristik Speed Test great portable tester link
· 20 ml beakers for regular tests link
· 10 ml beakers for small volume milliliter tests link
· Tweezers to pull the stir bars out of the vials and beakers link
· Silicone bakers mat, yes it is over kill but I have found that the reagents eat through cotton towels and discolor wood desk tops link
· PTFE stir bar white, 10 mm and 5 mm. What I did, is order a 7pc set to get the sizes I needed. link
Here are the traditional test Red Sea videos
Nitrate
Alk
Ca
Here is how I am now doing my test with the stirrer.
Using the Apera Stirrer
Using the SR Aquaristik Speed Test
I log my test results using my controller software and use my thread as a sort of journal to post my results there.
